Familial endorsement for murder. A 19-year-old woman from the Israeli-Arab town of Naura in northern Israel
was hospitalized in critical condition at the Rambam Medical Center in Haifa Tuesday after being shot twice in the head by her own brother. The suspect shot his sister in order to preserve the "family’s honor," and was warmly congratulated by his family for his actions, according to Afula police investigators.

“I just shot my sister,” the youth told MDA medics, who immediately reported the incident to police. His sister, who was shot in the head and repeatedly kicked in all parts of her body, played dead while her brother boasted to the family that he had managed to kill her in order to preserve the family’s honor.

Police investigators noted that the attempted murder was meticulously planned. The youth had informed his family members that he was going to murder his sister early Tuesday morning, and then set off to do just that. He headed to the entrance of the village in a vehicle which he had borrowed from his brother, and awaited his sister’s arrival.

The youth then shot his sister, who was startled to see him and proceeded to kick her repeatedly in order to ensure that she was no longer alive.

Chief Superintendent of the Afula Police Department, Orli Malka, stated that “the young woman was clever enough to play dead so that her brother would stop kicking her.” The shooter than called MDA medics and phone the police emergency hotline. "I just shot my sister,” he said, all the while keeping vigil over what he assumed was his sister’s lifeless corpse.

The young man than informed his family that he had shot his sister and was warmly greeted, hugged and congratulated by his brother and other family members.

The shocked father rode along with his critically injured daughter to the Emek Medical Center in Afula, where she was initially treated before being transferred to Rambam Medical Center in Haifa.

A Rambam hospital spokesperson said that the young woman suffered head injuries, and had undergone surgery early Tuesday morning. She remains in recovery, and doctors are still uncertain as to the severity of her condition and whether or not her life remains in danger.

The beleaguered father remained at his daughter’s side. Police investigators noted that the gun used by the shooter was stolen. “There is clear premeditation in this case," said the chief superintendent of the Afula police. “This is one of the most shocking, unsettling cases that I have ever encountered,” she said.

The young man ultimately turned himself into the police, and the Nazareth Magistrates’ Court remanded him to custody following a Tuesday hearing.